Networking architectures have grown increasingly complex in communication environments. In addition, the augmentation of clients or end users wishing to communicate in a network has caused many networking configurations and systems to become susceptible to elements that corrupt network traffic. The threat of external agents such as viruses, worms, Trojans and other damaging elements pose a serious risk to computer system architectures and end users alike. If not contained properly, these damaging elements can wreak havoc on network systems by disrupting communication flows, violating privacy, or compromising the integrity of information within the system.
More network resources are generally consumed as any given piece of network equipment attempts to address such security issues. For example, a large number of processing cycles may be needed in order to address a given packet flow of malicious traffic. In other scenarios, memory usage may be taxed in order to address a security concern. These procedures create a security loophole or an integrity issue because a given network element is susceptible to allowing destructive traffic to propagate freely when it is preoccupied or overwhelmed in dealing with other security concerns. During such times of vulnerability, a hacker may use a number of strategies or techniques in order to pierce network security, corrupt network communications, infiltrate network participants, or compromise routing of network traffic. Accordingly, the ability to provide for an effective security mechanism or protocol during periods of robust activity provides a significant challenge to system administrators and network operators.